Love Struck Delusion

Chapter 296 - Divine intervention.

Marcus's POV.

When I got back down there I found Raptor still being yelled at. Roslin was beyond reason as he shouted at him directly.

"And your other wife was a wretch! The amount of people she slept with to get what she wanted goes well beyond that of a common whore!"

Raptor snapped and took a swing. Roslin was never going to be hit. He just wanted to see him really try and now had forced him to break enough to even consider it. I wasn't nearly as fast to react and that gave Roslin more than enough time to return the favor.

With a heavy hook, Raptor was sent off his feet and he flew right through the minibar. The wood to it all broke apart. The chairs fell over and the few bottles Raptor had behind the counter had all fallen down from the shelf. Each once breaking on top of him.

I was shocked by what I just witnessed. Roslin on the other hand had taken this moment and took a step towards the bar. I jumped right in his face before he could get any closer to order.

"Stop! You can't kill him!"

From the moment that left my mouth I was expecting a response. That however didn't happen. Instead I panicked when he chose to punch me instead; right across the left side of my face. The power he applied took me to the ground in a matter of a second. I couldn't see straight and it felt like he nearly took off my head.

Walking through the broken bar, Roslin stopped when he was standing directly over Raptor. Reaching down to grab him by the throat, Roslin lifted him back up and off his feet; to hold him there and reply.

"I'm not going to Marcus. You should know your place."

Leaning in till he was only inches away from Raptor's face, Roslin asked him.

"Same as you. You wanna try that again?"

Raptor began to kick his legs. Roslin wasn't going to let him land a shot. He was just toying with him. Showing him that he was dominant and always would be. WIth Raptor's struggle pointless, Roslin proceeded to ask him.

"What's wrong with you? What's so hard about accepting the truth?"

Raptor was bleeding out of his mouth. His focus then shifted to me as he couldn't breathe. I saw the venom all in his body. It was raising hell and I knew he was hoping for me to intervene. So I quickly got back on my feet and shouted.

"Roslin! Enough!"

"Stay out of this Marcus. He needs this."

I bit my tongue as he proceeded to say to Raptor.

"You don't understand the power at which you're working to achieve. Marcus wants you to be his successor. For reasons I don't quite understand. You're supposed to be a killer? You're supposed to be something special? You're supposed to be capable of being a god?"

Squeezing down on Raptor's throat harder, Roslin then hissed into his face.

"You're barely capable of being alive. You? A god!? You can't even comprehend the truth of your worthless existence!"

Using all he had, Roslin sent Raptor right on through the backside of the stairs with a swift and almost invisible sweep of his arm.

"Aghhhh!" Raptor yelled out in pain as I widened my eyes at the sheer sight of damage done to both the house and him.

"You're life up till now has been nothing other then torture. You don't even have to be a god to see it."

Once standing over him again, Roslin went on to list the examples.

"Murdered your whole family. Shot your dad like a sick dog. Executed your mother and sister. Killed your big brother. Tried to start a family of your own and then watched as they all got taken from you."

Kneeling down to see Raptor was pretty much defeated, Roslin grabbed him by the back of his neck and said with a much darker tone of voice.

"You killed your first child. You made a deal with the devil and begged for him to make the pain stop. Then a few years later and look where we are."

Raptor wasn't moving. He rag dolled as Roslin slowly lifted his head off the ground.

"You lost another family. Murdered your daughter for the second time and did whatever you had to get revenge. You sold your soul. Now you remember all the pain and you're still somehow trying to start over again. Do you know how many people you've killed in your life as a murderer? You know there isn't ever going to be peace or forgiveness for a man like you? The things you've done to see your dreams realized has cost more then any war you've fought before. Be that physical or mental. Your life is forfeit."

"I know." Raptor groaned as I again ordered Roslin.

"Stop!"

Roslin took a few seconds to think to himself as he continued to hold him up. I didn't know what else to say, but I watched as he slowly sighed and released Raptor's neck.

The hedgehog hit the ground with a small thud as Roslin muttered in disappointment.

"You're pathetic. A waste of life and a waste of time."

Sending my body forward towards the man, I shouted.

"It doesn't matter what he's a waste of! The decision is mine Roslin! You know that!"

Without looking at me he continued to stare at Raptor. Only after a few seconds did he reply to me.

"And you know the punishment for granting a mortal power without prior consent."

I stopped only inches out from where he was kneeling and widened my eyes as he said to me.

"That's a punishment worse than death. So do yourself a favor and keep your mouth shut."

Looking back down at Raptor, he went on to urge me.

"You should rethink your plans. This man is not your replacement."

"I've thought over my plans. I know what I'm doing. You need to accept that. If I'm wrong in where I put my faith, then you have my word I'll accept the punishment. At any point. At any time. Now stop."

Roslin and I were again locking eyes. He knew just how serious I was being and responded with a small but steady nod. I then carefully began to heal Raptor. As I started I said to Roslin.

"He's my demi. I chose him. He's going to see and understand the truth, but not by your hand. Once he's understood it all, he can make his choice. He's earned another chance to try. And one way or the other, we'll see just who was right and who was wrong. But till that moment I'd like you to go."

Roslin's glare was on a whole new level as he heard my direction. But without the ability to refuse he stood up and replied.

"Fine. Finish what you started. We'll talk another time Marcus. As for you though?"

Looking back down at Raptor, I panicked as he decided to kick Raptor right in the ribs. The power physically pushed him off the ground and sent him slamming into the nearby concrete wall next to me about two feet away. With all his anger left within his voice, Roslin then stated to Raptor.

"You're no god. You're nothing. Go on and enjoy what little time you have left. Because when this is all over; you'll either be trying to start all over again or you'll be dead. Either way? You'll continue to amount to nothing."

And with that he disappeared.

Looking back to Raptor, I moved over till I was back at his side and began my work all over again. With my voice shaking slightly I ordered him.

"Don't move."

Raptor was in so much pain from the beating he just took. He could barely open his eyes as I felt his back.

With my eyes staring right at the back of his head, I said to him softly.

"I'm sorry. I didn't consider his emotions when bringing this up to you. Nor did I expect him to beat you almost to death."

Even with his blood dripping out onto the floor and his ribs broken in half, Raptor managed to open one of his eyes to look up at me. I just stared back at him as he stated to me with a thin chuckle.

"This is gonna hurt the resale value of my house. Hehehe."

I couldn't help but break a laugh out as he then asked me.

"What did you do to Zeta and her sister?"

Losing my smile and going back to fully focus on healing, I replied.

"They're asleep upstairs. I had to force it, but the other outcome would have been a lot worse.

"How much trouble are you in because of me? It doesn't sound like you're on good terms." Raptor's question hit me right in the head. Up till now I've kept that private, but now seemed like a good enough time to let him in on it.

Moving my hands up to his neck, I replied.

"I'm not in trouble. I could be. But no, everything is okay for now. Roslin is just smart. He knows me and I know him. So long as one of us doesn't speak about the other, we can both go about our business."

"But he made it sound like you were pushing your luck with me. What's gonna happen?"

With his injuries almost dealt with, I replied.

"Nothing. Right now I need you back on your feet."

Raptor tried to move, but was still with a lack of energy to do so. Once he realized that, he stopped to ask me.

"What he said about Alicia and Julie? Is that….?" Raptor cut himself off as I just gave him a serious look back. With our eyes locked, I had finished my job and proceeded to place my hand on the back of his head. With my voice low I said to him.

"I wouldn't lie to you about this. But I know you can't accept the truth from my words alone. So close your eyes and I'll show you instead."

Raptor let out a small exhale of air and once he had taken his next breath; had shut his eyes to my voice. From there I sent him away. Away to go see the truth for himself. Knowing the impact of my actions, I whispered as I shut my eyes.

"I'm sorry."

Zeta's POV, a few hours later.

When I opened my eyes I felt as if I had just woken up from a hangover. Drool was plastered on the underside of my chin and I felt like my mouth was as dry as a bone. However when I sat up I realized I was in Raptor's bed. Unaware of how or when I got here.

"Raptor?" I mumbled as I tried to stand up.

When I managed to stand on both my legs, I proceeded to exit the room and look around the hallway asking out loud.

"Raptor? Pep?"

I got no answer so I decided to go downstairs. That's when I found Pepper and Molly asleep on the couch together. In confusion I walked around and looked at both of them. Molly was out cold and Pepper wasn't going to wake anytime soon unless I thumped her on the head. Which was something I wasn't sure about doing just yet. I was confused and still more concerned with finding my boyfriend. So very carefully I approached the basement door. When I opened it, I instantly felt my heart rate rise as I found that the bottom of the stairs had been completely broken off from the rest of the set. Five or six good steps were gone. The wood was everywhere. Unsure of what happened I again called out.

"Raptor?"

By this point I was at the very end of the usable steps. Bending down, I looked over the basement and couldn't see Raptor anywhere. So with that in mind, I jumped down the steps and instantly noticed that there was a large crack in the concrete wall.

"Sniff! Sniff!"

Lowering myself down onto my knees, I began to sniff around. The first thing I could make out was Raptor's scent. The second was Marcus's. However there was also a third. One I couldn't make out, but that quickly left my mind when I began to smell nothing but alcohol.

"What the hell happened?" I asked out loud as I turned to look through the portion of the stairs that was missing to see the bar had been completely destroyed. All the alcohol I was smelling was from the broken bottles that must have fallen from the shelf. The floor was drenched.

WIth my eyes going back to the where they were once looking, I noticed there was some blood hiding under a few pieces of wood. I've seen enough of this to know it was Raptor's.

Getting back up onto my feet, I decided to try and follow his scent. It didn't just disappear, but the trail had me going back upstairs. Pepper and Molly were still asleep by the time I got back up there. Raptor's scent however was going right to the front door. Gently opening the door, I smelled that the trail went outside and towards the sidewalk. Letting out a worried and stressed sigh I muttered to myself as I knew this was a problem.

"God damn it Raptor. Where are you going?"

Unsure of what to really do, I quickly went back inside the house and up to his room where my things were at. I threw on my vest and went to check my bag where I had my HK 45. As I pulled it out to tuck behind my shirt, I stopped to notice that Raptor's M1911 was missing from the nearby nightstand. That was enough to have me even more worried so I was running out of the house not a moment after I was ready.

Raptor's trail was all I could focus on. I don't know what's going on or what happened, but I knew something was wrong and if I wasn't fast enough things could be really bad. I had to find him. No matter what.

mT Shadow.